Canadian Banks On Verge of Collapse It’s the Citizens who feel it. Subscriber Submission

First off,I would like to say great shows, thank you for reporting on real issues.

Recently in Canada, a story is starting to unravel, whistle blowers recently approached our media to cover a story on how they are pressured to keep unrealistic sales quotas and many have admitted to having to break regulations in order to obtain their sales targets to avoid losing their jobs such as increasing credit card limits and overdraft limits without customer consent or knowledge which in return higher interest rates collected once a customer spends above the initial limit they once thought they had. Another tactic is to convince customers they need a certain product that they do not even qualify for, example credit card or loan insurance are sold to seasonal/contract workers that do not qualify to receive such in the event that employment is loss and unable to find new employment in time to maintain payments. More tactics, harassing customers at home calling then several times a day to sell products. Customers are lured into taking more credit then they can handle, such as adding debt to their mortgage to buy toys, live above their means or to buy stocks and other similar products. Luring customers into investing in certain products that they advertise as doing well but aren’t. Many of those dealing in the sales of these types of products require certifications and many of those selling them to not posses the proper qualifications required to do so. This is just scratching the surface.

I know currently they are just whistle blower accounts but I believe them. I know many who are now in debt trouble because of the same tactics and as a customer, I experienced my fair share of some of the acts mentioned above and more from 2 different banks, i am now on the 3rd bank in 11 years to get away from their shady practices. Freezing bank accounts for up to 10 days ( in order to verify the legitimacy of a payroll deposit, in reality it should be instant or up to 3 days max) then bouncing checks (rent, utilities and such) and charging the customer 40$ for each bounced payment when all along sufficient funds are in the account. Cancelling credit card payments in order to gain extra charges and once again increase interest rates from 7 % to 24% because of it( as per the contract clause for missed payment) . In my opinion they payment isn’t missed if they are the ones that cancelled it. These are some of my experiences, who knows what else other Canadians have experience that hasn’t been brought forward ( we are a pretty docile crowd i know lol ).

These big 5 banks are Scotiabank, RBC, CIBC, TD, BMO. They have been recording record profit and record growth, for some as much as 40% growth compare to last year. Many of the bank call center jobs have been outsourced to India in order to reduce operating costs ( RBC is famous for that) Our economic reality here in Canada is very similar to yours, media and government are advertising all this growth, added jobs and how well Canada is doing but it is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Reality is we are a resource based economy and since oil tanked we have been taking a real shit kicking.

Here is a bit of information on our economic circumstances to better help you understand what is happening here. I am from New-Brunswick and had to leave my home province because the economic circumstances were so horrible 10 yrs ago (and they still are) I knew my best chance would be to work in a low paid job, with or without post secondary education so I left as soon as I was old enough to do so. Quebec is a welfare state much like Greece, they suck the federal government dry with little desire to contribute to the economy and always have been. Some of our first nation communities (aboriginal or indian, whatever you call it in the US) live way below poverty and go without many of the necessities of life, many don’t even have running water going to homes and communities, have terribly underfunded social programs , for example schools, medical care , some even no roads or bridges to connect them to cities which are all supposed to be government funded. It impacts their ability to get proper education, jobs and provide for their families,communities and contribute to Canada’s economy in a healthy way. Lets skip all they way out to Alberta and the prairies, the cash cow of Canada, things were well while oil was at a healthy price. our oil and energy sector employed many including workers from the failed economy provinces and also provide much support to social programs to other provinces so everyone can have a basic standard of living in a program we call equalization payments. In the meantime, eastern Canada refuses infrastructure to transport our oil to them in a safer, more cost efficient manner but continues to import foreign oil at higher cost to them and from nations linked with terrorism instead of using a domestic product. In much of our country, wages have stagnated for quite some time now but cost of living is increasing real fast, across the country, many are living under the poverty line, since the oil plunge, many of us in Alberta remain jobless, we took wage cuts to remain competitive,some up to 30% ( which is about 20 years worth of wage increases) meanwhile many companies (in all sectors ,engineering, oil,retail, service, fast food) have all these advertising for job positions that do not exist or they will not hire us Canadians and claim that they could not find qualified Canadians to fill positions in order to obtain permission from our government to get access to the TFW program , the acronym stands for temporary foreign workers and they are allowed to pay them less. I had a total of 3 months of work under my qualifications, yet I was training such workers for 2 out of the 3 months. They are supposed to be a skilled labor force but they are not, they don’t even speak English and have no ability to communicate and no translator. An other factor, much like your retail sector, ours is bleeding money all over the place because folks just don’t have the funds to shop anymore, in turn eliminating more jobs,Many manufacturing jobs were sent overseas and in mexico, lay-offs in the oil and energy sector by the 100’s of thousands, TFW’s being hired everywhere. Massive amounts of corporate welfare and bailouts yet increasing taxes on the middle class in various forms( income tax, sales, tax, carbon tax etc). Credit card delinquencies, auto and mortgage loan defaults are on the rise ,yet real estate sector is higher then it’s ever been. Banks and oil companies are screaming record profits from the rooftops As you can see there is something not quite right all over.

Now back to the banks, it is impossible for banks to be profiting at the rate they claim and be operating in a legitimate fashion and adhering to our federal regulations meanwhile average Canadians are struggling to survive and pay their bills or are jobless, Robberies/scams are on the rise, the continued outsourcing of jobs and labor force and many industries, restaurants, large retailers and small businesses failing at the rate that they are. Many of us are turning to alternative ways like gold and silver to retain whatever wealth we can against an entire system rigged for our failure and ramping inflation. Many others have just simply given up. Our finance minister has agreed to do an investigation in the banks practices so I am sure they will be interesting details that will surface as these stories gain momentum in our media as more customers and workers come forward in the next few months.